Avenging Rose
by Lady Timelord
Summary: Challenge fic set by Raxacoricofallapatorious, 10Rose, angsty, fluffy, protective Doctor. Reviews are love!


_Disclaimer: S'not mine, end of._

_A/N__: Right, this is a challenge that was set by Raxacoricofallapatorious, not sure how well it's gonna work out, but we'll give it a go!_

_What Jimmy Stone looks like and stuff is just what I thought he'd be like, I might be totally wrong! But what I did find out about him is thanks to Wikipedia! _

_Set at the end of __'The Age of Steel', and as always we'll get fluff. But angst too. :o)_

_Bubblez beta'd :D (__**Yeah I did! And where's the fun in BETA'ing if I don't add my own little A/N :P… This is fab, o' course! Made me squee like the fangirl I am! AND. Review. Or all 13 regenerations shall disappear and no one wants that :) **_

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"You're alive..." Rose burst through the doors of the TARDIS that the Doctor had manage to park so neatly in the Tyler residence living room. Jackie was stood there, eyebrows raised in shock. "Oh, mum. You're alive."

Rose flung her arms around her mother, holding her tight and as though she'd not seen her in forever.

"Well, I was the last time I looked..." Jackie replied holding her daughter tightly, a small smile across her face as Rose held her tighter. Behind Rose, the Doctor stood out of the TARDIS and looks at them, leaning against the blue box behind him.

A look of concern suddenly darted across Jackie's face as she saw the solemn look on his face, and the way her daughter was reacting. "What is it? What's happened, sweetheart?" She turned to the Doctor, "What's wrong? Where did you go?"

"Far away. That was... far away." He said with a distant look on his face.

"Where's Mickey?"

"He's gone home." The Doctor replied somewhat half heartedly as Rose clung to her mother still tighter. "He's gone home."

Jackie, sensing that neither of them wanted to talk about it, hugged Rose back and then pulled herself away slightly, to look at her, and the tears slowly leaking from her eyes. She glanced over Rose's shoulder towards the Doctor who stood up straight and moved towards them, turning Rose around to him. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, eyes blurry with tears and collapsed into tears into his chest, arms finding their way around him, and his arms wrapped around her holding her close. Jackie looked at them, and watched her daughter break down and cry in his arms, glad that he was there for her. She sidled out into the kitchen to make tea. Tea, after all, was her answer to everything.

---

After a few hours of tears from both Jackie and Rose, on and off, the Doctor started to get a bit annoyed. It was only Rickey, _sorry_, Mickey the Idiot after all, although he did feel that he would miss him somewhat. Anyway, he was getting annoyed, but was reluctant to say anything - Jackie had already threatened him with a slap if he didn't move the TARDIS out of her living room and into the yard below. But the tears and sobs were starting to get to him now. He had to get out, just for a second.

"Excuse me a second," he said standing up from the chair in front of the television, and made to go out the door. He'd just got half way to the front door when Rosecame out behind him and caught his pinstriped arm.

"Where are you off too?" She looked up at him inquisitively, mascara streaked eyes and cheeks, still making her look beautiful.

"Just, erm… outside?"

"Give me five minutes to clean myself up and we can go." She slid her hand down his arm and interlinked their fingers, pulling herself closer to him. "I'm sorry for this, I really am."

The Doctor smiled down at her. She was fantastic, she really was.

"It's okay, go on, I'll wait here."

She hugged him close in thanks, and he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead before she scurried off to the bathroom to tidy herself up a bit. He wandered back into the living room to see Jackie blowing her nose. He wrinkled his nose slightly, but gave her a high wattage smile when she looked up at him.

"You'll take extra care of her now, yeah?" she asked sniffling slightly.

"Of course I will Jackie, have you ever had any reason to doubt me?" Jackie opened her mouth as though to answer.

"On second thoughts, don't answer that, but trust me, I will." He reached out and rubbed her upper arm slightly in reassurance.

With that, Rose came in, almost devoid of make up, but seemingly fresh faced.

"Thank-you" whispered Jackie in the Doctor's ear as they hugged good bye. He nodded slightly and moved towards the door as Rose said good bye to her mother.

"Bye mum, I'll see you soon, right Doctor?!" the last shouted out to the Doctor who was standing in the hall hands thrust deep into his pockets toeing the carpet slightly. He shouted out "yep!" and she turned back to Jackie smiling. A last final big hug and Rose joined the Doctor in the hall and they walked out of the door, the Doctor having to hold back a deep sigh of relief.

Rose giggled at the look on his face, a sound that was music to his ears after such a time of hearing her sobbing, he released her hand that had someone wiggled into his grasp without him noticing and draped his arm around her shoulder as they walked out onto the court below. She smiled up at him and raised her left hand to interlink with his fingers hanging down around her shoulder.

He grinned down at her as they walked towards the TARDIS, he knew the way, and they just looked at each other, talking about what next adventure they could go on, when the Doctor noticed the smile on Rose's face drop suddenly as she saw something or someone out of the corner of her eye.

"Rose? What is it?" She looked as though she was about to start crying again and the Doctor turned to look at what she was looking at.

There stood on the other side of the court was a tall lanky young man, black hair getting slightly too long and was curling slightly, baggy jeans and a T shirt of a band the Doctor had never heard of.

"Rose? That you?" the person said. "Blimey, not seen you 'round 'ere in a bit! This your new fella then? 'eard somefing 'bout you goin' off travelin' wiv a new bloke, bit ol' for ya ain't 'e?" and he winked suggestively.

Rose's breath caught in her throat and she ran from the Doctor in the direction of the TARDIS, hair blowing behind her.

"Who the hell are you?" the Doctor asked, somewhat angrily at the way he had made Rose react.

"Jimmy, Jimmy Stone, used to go out wiv Rose few years back. "

"Oh, so _you're_ Jimmy. Just leave her alone alright." The Doctor's eyes were bulging with rage and you could see a vein in his throat starting to throb a bit.

"Alright mate, keep your 'air on." And he stalked off glancing slightly apprehensively over his shoulder at the Doctor who had given him a filthy look before running off to the TARDIS after Rose.

He burst through the doors, and after realizing she wasn't in the Console Room, sped down the corridor towards Rose's room. Once he got closer he heard her sobbing again and his hearts rose to his throat. What had Jimmy Stone really done to make her like this?

He knocked lightly on her door, and heard her stifle her sobs quickly.

"Rose? Can I come in?" Rose mumbled in reply, and he eased her door open to find her sat cross legged on her bed, hugging her pillow, tears flooding from her eyes yet again that day.

"Oh Rose!" he near enough ran over to her bed and sat next to her, and pulled her over to him and held her tight as she sobbed into his jacket again. He soothed her hair down and rubbed her back, whispering reassurances in her ear, as he felt his blood boil at the thought of someone making her like this.

After a few minutes her sobbing died down a bit, and the Doctor pulled her from him and looked down at her; eyes all red and puffy. He raised his hand to her face, cupped her cheek and thumbed away her tears. She let out a deep ragged breath and tried to control herself.

"What's wrong? What did he do to you? You don't have to tell me, obviously, just…" he shifted his gaze slightly, "I hate seeing you like this."

She smiled slightly at his comment and raised her hand to his and removed it from her cheek holding it in her hand, looking down at it stroking his fingers slightly, as though to distract them both slightly.

"No… It's okay, you should know," she said eventually. "He was Jimmy Stone. I started going out with him just as my GCSE's ended, and I left school and home and went to live with him. He's four years older than me, and me in my naïve stupid teenage state thought I loved him and that he was the best person ever…"

The Doctor sat there quietly as Rose told the story of her and Jimmy, how she had stopped going to school and therefore got no A Levels, and how he said he'd be able to support them both on the money he'd earn from being a musician, and that they'd be happy. Only it was short lived. Their short little affair ended in tears, Rose's of course, and left her over £800 in debt. Then about how she went back home to Jackie, back to Mickey whom she'd been dating before, and started her job at Henriks. From then on he knew the story, seeing as he'd blown up her job and then they'd gone traveling.

When she'd got to the bit about why they split, how he'd been cheating and just using her for money the Doctor moved to stand up, anger coursing through him, but Rose pulled on his arm making him stay, not wanting him to do anything he might regret later.

Finally, when her story came to an end, the Doctor gathered Rose up in his arms for a huge hug telling her it was alright and that he would never be able to do anything to her again. Rose was sat across his lap, her face nuzzled into his neck, arms around him, while his arms snaked around her holding her close to him. After a few minutes he felt her relax in his grip. She'd fallen asleep.

He stood up; holding her in his arms, and lay her gently down on the bed. He pressed his lips to her forehead and brushed her hair from her face. He looked down at her sleeping form and felt his hearts flutter in his chest. Ever so slightly reluctantly, he walked from her room, pulling the door to behind him. And then he ran. He ran down the corridor and into the console room, giving the monitor a quick glace before dashing out of the TARDIS door and running back on to the Powell Estate.

Once out in the open, he changed the setting on his sonic screwdriver, and ran in the direction Jimmy Stone had gone, and ran up a flight of stairs he came too. He was so angry, he didn't know where he was as he walked out onto one of the floors and followed the sound of loud music, hoping his screwdriver had led him the right way, in the direction of Jimmy.

He banged loudly on the door to the flat with his fist, and waited no more than a few seconds before kicking the door down and barging into Jimmy's flat. He went into the living room area, vein throbbing in his neck in anger to find Jimmy lying on his sofa, head back listening to the music.

"What the hell?!" He said, sitting up suddenly.

The Doctor ran towards him and picked him up by the scruff of his neck and pushed him against the wall, a few inches above the ground. He bought his face within centimeters from Jimmy's.

"If you ever, EVER go ANYWHERE near Rose AGAIN, you're gonna wish you'd never been born!" spit flying from his mouth as he shouted in Jimmy's face, Jimmy's eyes widening with fear.

"O…okay" Jimmy stammered but the Doctor wasn't satisfied with his answer and back slapped him.

"Say you're SORRY!" Jimmy started stuttering "SAY IT!"

"I'm sorry!"

The Doctor slapped him again, and Jimmy's face was starting to turn a shade of purple with the Doctor's hand still pushed against his throat.

"Say it again, and mean it!" he snarled through clenched teeth.

"I'm," he coughed, "I'm sorry!"

The Doctor let go and Jimmy slumped into a heap on the floor. Breathing heavily the Doctor bent down and picked him up off the floor and threw a hard punch at his nose, breaking it and knocking him out before letting him sag back down to the floor. Shaking his hand from the pain, and stalked out of the flat and back down to the TARDIS.

He wandered back into the TARDIS and set coordinates and paused as the Time Rotor began to move and they began to dematerialize into the vortex. He looked down at his hand and flexed his fingers noticing they were already beginning to turn a shade of purple bruise. He dismissed the thought of sorting himself out in the med bay and hurried back down the corridor to Rose's room. He pushed the door open slightly saw Rose still lying where he'd left her. He moved across her room and toed off his shoes before sidling next to her, rolling her over and spooning behind her, letting his bruised hand rest on her hip and his head rest on her shoulder, the sound of her breathing relaxing the Doctor.

They stayed like this for a long while, the Doctor even managing to get a few hours sleep himself until he felt Rose shift next to him and slowly awaken. She stirred and rolled over in his hold, making their faces centimeters away. She smiled sleepily and moved her hand to her hip and interlinked her fingers with his. He let out a short gasp of breathe as her fingers touched the bruised skin. She looked down and suddenly sat up to examine his hand.

"Doctor?"

"It's nothing don't worry."

"You didn't go and find Jimmy did you?" The Doctor moved his gaze from her and fixed it on a point on the wall. "Oh Doctor!"

"I'm sorry Rose, but something had to be done, he couldn't get away with what he did to you."

"You didn't have to do anything!"

"But Rose I did!" he looked back at her, and took her hand completely in his. "I had too!"

"But why Doctor?"

"Because I love you and I hated seeing him hurt you like this!"

Rose's heart jumped to her throat

"You love me Doctor?" tears prickling her eyes once more.

He lowered his head slightly before looking back into her eyes and nodded. "Yes. And he had to apologize for what he did to you"

"You love me?"

"Yes."

She pulled their hands up to her mouth and kissed the bruises on his knuckles.

"I love you too."

The Doctor smiled, he could feel tears beginning to form in his eyes. He leant forward and kissed her gently. He pulled back before anything could go any further, wanting to make sure it's what Rose wanted. She had closed her eyes, and she opened them again love emitting from her gaze, and she leant up and kissed him again.

And they were kisses they would both remember. Forever.


End file.
